The point, Donovan and Christie noted, was to allow for county residents to bounce back from Hurricane Sandy’s effects. While Little Ferry and Moonachie took the brunt of the major damage, other towns like Ridgewood and Wyckoff saw power lost for the bulk of their homes for a week or more.

The suspension – which led to limited openings on Nov. 4 and more extensive shopping options today – may well be lifted early this week.

So why is there so much chatter among insiders about whether this is about more than Hurricane Sandy?

There has been a decades-long battle about supporters and opponents of the blue laws. Opponents – led by Paramus residents – say that the state’s busiest county needs one day each week for hustle and bustle to slow down.

Others say that while that may make sense in mall-centric Paramus, perhaps it should not apply from North Arlington to Mahwah.

But the reason this disaster-related move has raised hackles is that Christie has suggested before – including in his announcement of a planned 2010-11 budget – that the blue laws be rescinded.

Christie quickly backpedaled in the wake of severe criticism – not exactly typical of the Governor.

Meanwhile, it so happens that the fate of American Dream Meadowlands – the long-stalled, muilt-colored retail and entertainment complex adjacent to Izod Center – is likely to be important to Christie’s re-election campaign. While the project was pushed by Democrats a decade ago when it was born, Christie has adopted it to some extent as a way to show that the state is ‘business-friendly.”

But in spite of predicting to me back in March that the $2 billion in financing needed to complete the expanded version of the project laid out by new would-be developer Triple Five, Christie has yet to see the dollars officially committed.

If Christie lifts the blue law suspension this week, then only a mind-reader could tell you to what extent, if any, this was a modest trial balloon. But I can tell that is exactly what many longtime observers believe.